ZS Overman

S4 Completely Machinima Interview: Phil Rice, funny man (June 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes June 15, 2024 Leave a reply

Welcome to our latest bonus episode. We had the pleasure of catching up with Phil Rice aka zsOverman to talk exclusively about his latest machinima, called Being Moses. If there’s such as thing as a parody of a Let’s Play, this film is it! Check out Phil’s comments and watch the film.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes and Links

Being Moses – a Vintage Story #machinima tale by zsOverman aka Phil Rice, released 17 May 2024

Trailer for Vintage Story –

S4 E113 Legends! Zelda TOTK: Shinto Ritual | iClone & AI: Lobachevsky (Jan 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes January 25, 2024 Leave a reply

This week we discuss two very different films, both reflecting a bygone era of classic entertainment. Firstly, an interpretation of the 1954 Japanese classic Godzilla, made in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Its unusual for a couple of reasons: its been made on a handheld Nintendo Switch in a game not really known for its creative application, and its been released only on X (Twitter). Its timing is perfect to capitalize on all the film and TV series hype at the moment so it was always going to find an appreciative audience – definitely one to check out. Secondly, Phil has created an iClone and AI-based video to the Tom Lehrer song, Lobachevsky – its the ultimate accompaniment to this well-known political satire. Phil discusses his creative process in its making and we also discuss how the original song came to be made at a time when Lehrer was walking a tightrope for a few reasons, so we reflect on its timing and impact.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Shinto Ritual by Sumoguri2323, released 23 Nov 2023 –

Original trailer for Godzilla 1954, by Toho –

Lobachevsky – Tom Lehrer – The secret to success in mathematics by zsOverman (Phil Rice), released 10 Nov 2023 –

How Phil used AI to create the math scene he mentions –

The Stanislavsky routine which was allegedly the original inspiration for Lehrer’s song

Tom Lehrer at 90! Here’s a great article in Nature about his life’s work

Follow Phil’s channel for weekly film releases here

Completely Machinima Interview: Ben Tuttle, film maker

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes January 15, 2024 Leave a reply

Phil catches up with a long-time machinima creator Ben Tuttle, aka 4413 Media.  Ben admits he cut his teeth on The Movies in the late 2000s, and then discusses Shockbreak, one of his latest productions.  They get into the detail of how the film was created and generally Ben’s creative workflow using iClone, Character Creator, Unreal Engine and a heap of other tools integrated into the production process.  They also discuss the merits of using AI and the difficulties of social media misinterpretations. Ben shares with us some teasers for some of his upcoming films.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Ben Tuttle’s latest film, Shockbreak, released 19 October 2023 –

Using iClone on a new project, Redstrike –

Follow Ben’s YouTube channel for great tutorials on using different tools in the creative production process here

S4 E106 The Sims 4: I Abducted My Entire Neighborhood (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 7, 2023 Leave a reply

We start this week’s episode with a discussion about Reallusion’s new facial mocap system, Accuface (which Phil and Damien have already invested in), move on to a brief contest update (being run by Pink Floyd no less), and then follow this up with our film review. If you liked the Saw series of films, then this is for you – its a particularly sadistic let’s play style machinima made in The Sims 4, called I Abducted My Entire Neighborhood in The Sims 4, by Lets Game It Out… and its also just Phil’s sense of humor too! We contrast our discussion with some older references to classic machinimas, which help us to make our point about just how talented this creator is.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Reallusion’s Accuface release here.

Film, by Lets Game It Out, released 18 January 2020

Comparison films discussed –

OBIT (by Phil Rice / zsOverman, released 2022, RDR2) –

The Snow Witch (by Britannica Dreams, released 2006, Sims 2) –

RVB (Rooster Teeth, episode 1 originally released in 2003) –

Phil’s out takes video from Male Restroom Etiquette (released 2006) –

S4 E100 SPECIAL: Machinima Reflections

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes October 25, 2023 Leave a reply

Celebrating our 100th episode on the CM podcast/YouTube show, we reflect on how far machinima has come and some of the recent trends we’ve observed in our film reviews.



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

We list here a selection of the film review episodes we mention in our discussion during this episode.

Neo Stormwind by Duren Productions –

The MODDED Wacky West by BedBananas –

The Ghost by JP Ferre –

After War by RG Studios –

Patient Zero by The Parry God –

Secret Moon by Orencloud –

Interloper by Anomidae –

917 by Krad Productions –